


Olympic Village - Independent Athletes

by The_Unqualified1



Series: 2020 Fódlan Summer Olympics [22]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Covid canceled the olympics so we made our own hope you enjoy, Emile was in fostercare, F/F, Fodlan Summer Olympics, Hapi and Constance are dorks, Its almost over..., Post-game emotions, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26424298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Unqualified1/pseuds/The_Unqualified1
Summary: The games are over. How are our wolves feeling?Hapi and Constance talk relationships and medals.Balthus tries to convince Yuri to take a break.Jeritza reflects on his time.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth, Hapi/Constance von Nuvelle
Series: 2020 Fódlan Summer Olympics [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1881421
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	Olympic Village - Independent Athletes

“And that is all folks. If you can believe it, four weeks of competitions have come and gone. World records have been set, dreams have been realized, lives have been changed. When we get down to our medal counts and see not only the countries but the individual athletes themselves with the biggest stories we have to turn our attention to Hapi Nuvelle.”

Constance’s ears perked up immediately as she heard her wife’s name coming from the TV hanging above the bar. She rested her chin in her hands and smiled up at the footage of Hapi shooting skeet, her favorite event.

“An independent Olympian wandered in here and said she was going to participate in rifle, pistol, and skeet, and she  _ did _ . Not only did she compete in the 3 events, but she medaled in all of them. Two silvers and a gold for the impressive marksman. Coming in without a nation to represent you’d have called her a dark horse, but seeing her perform out there you’d have called her the favorite.”

“You’re not still watching this, are you?” Hapi spoke hunching over the bar next to her with a smile. “It’s over, we did it.”

“What, I can’t admire my wife in action? Receiving her accolades?” She said with a dramatic flourish as she reached out and rubbed a stain of chocolate from her cheek with her thumb. She truly always left a mess of crumbs and ruins wherever she went. She sucked the end of her thumb to catch the flavor of cocoa and didn’t miss the smile shot her way as she did.

“You’re drunk off one glass of cabernet, aren’t you?” Hapi asked with a shake of the head, but the warmest smile.

“I am not  _ drunk. _ ” She corrected, doing her best not to slur words. “My tolerance is certainly lowered… but it would not befit someone such as myself to become inebriated in a public display.”

“I’m sure you think all your big words are impressing me, and they may work on anyone else, but I know you too well Coco.” She said, and they found themselves both grinning. “Just tell me this, am I going to have to carry you back to the dorms?”

“I can absolutely manage if that’s what you’re implying… however, if it’s an offer…”

Hapi rolled her eyes.

“Guess I walked into that one. Ok fine.” She said with a smile. “But only because, it would not be  _ befitting _ for one such as yourself to walk in shoes like that. A carriage shall be arranged.” She tried on her best Constance impression which pulled another laugh from the boxer.

“Did you get to talk to your shooting friend?”

“Yeah, gave my proper congratulations to Chatterbox.” Hapi said nodding back toward the still packed ballroom of various athletes. The commemorative dinner had been nice to celebrate the end of their momentous occasion.

“Are the rumors of her and the pole-vaulter true?” Constance asked cheekily leaning in. The gossip had piqued her curiosity.

“Hardly rumors anymore.” Hapi snorted. “They made that rather public display at the end of her match. And they were side by side all night.” She added, a softer smile. “They seem quite smitten with each other.”

“Remind you of anyone?” Constance said dreamily, looking back at her wife. Hapi blushed slightly.

“Us when we were starting out.” She said quieter. “And now we’re  _ this _ .” She added, extending a hand to her and pulling another laugh as a reward. No one could make Constance laugh the way Hapi could.

“Now we are.” She took her wife’s hand and was propped up onto her back, wrapping her arms warmly around her shoulders and hoping her dress was long enough to hide her from the public eye, but in the moment… she couldn’t care too much. She caught a strong smell of her favorite cologne and smiled. It was the smell of home. Of safety. Of love… she couldn't think of anything better.

“Hey, you know something cool about that?” Hapi nodded toward the TV.

“Hmm?” Constance inquired back.

“All the medals I earned are under the name Nuvelle… so the Nuvelle name did place gold at these Olympics. In fact…  _ two _ Nuvelle’s medaled. How cool is that?” She asked heading for the door where the rest of their friends awaited them.

“Very cool.” Constance said, smiling tighter and burying her face back into that familiar scent. She always had a way of making things  _ that much _ better. “Very cool indeed my dear.”

Yuri walked in stride with Balthus on their way back from dinner. Hapi walking ahead of them with Constance on her shoulders laughing at some inside joke practically every other step. He’d be annoyed if they weren’t so damn cute.

“So, what’s next boss?” Balthus said as they walked under the moonlight.

“Next? Same old same old. Gotta get back in the pool. Four years may seem like a lot of time. But it’ll come and go before you know it.” He said nonchalantly. “And I don't expect my competition to take it easy, so I got to keep pace, and hopefully outpace them.”

Balthus exhaled a laugh and shook his head.

“What?” Yuri shot back.

“You’re just always on boss.”

Yuri scoffed at the answer.

“Someone’s got to be. All of you are hopeless without me.”

“You say that, but you might want to think about a break. Else you’ll break.”

“What would I do with this break, supposing I took one?” Yuri challenged. Balthus shrugged.

“I don’t know. Go somewhere with a beach. Drink a lot of beer. Play some cards.”   
  
“That’s what you would do.” Yuri corrected.

“Hell yeah it is.” Balthus pumped a fist. “Cause I know how to unwind.”

“Easy for you to say. You got the gold.” Yuri taunted.

“Is that what this is about?” Balthus said with a smack on his shoulder that’s harder than he probably realizes.  _ The brute has never mastered the art of subtlety. _

“Don’t misinterpret. I’m not wallowing here in my own pity. I just see how close that dream is now. So I’m not going to allow myself to regress over a cold bottle on some hot sand.”

“Geez, you're worse than I thought.” Balthus said with a shake of the head. “ _ Hey Hapi! _ ” He cupped his hands over his mouth to yell ahead to the couple.

“ _ What? _ ” She yelled back, turning over her shoulder.

“Do you guys want to have a beach getaway? First weekend next month?”

“Oh you know I hate that much sun on my pale complexion.” Constance said from against her wife’s back.

“Yeah, but you do love the drinks they serve in the coconuts.” Hapi teased.

“It’s true. I do. I don’t see why the only acceptable place to serve those is at the beach. They should become common practice.”

“Here here. Put em in vending machines I say.” Hapi added, earning another laugh and a playful swat on her shoulder.

“So is that a yes?” Balthus yelled again. “You guys in?”

“Sure.” Hapi yelled back. “We’ll get her one of those big parasols and I’ll get an excuse to bust out my skimboard.”

“Noice! What about you big guy?” Balthus called over his shoulder to Jeritza following quietly behind. He looked up at Balthus then to Yuri then back.

“The beach?” He said simply. Balthus nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah, you can swim there!”

Jeritza looked between them again before finally nodding.

“Welp that settles it. You’ll have to come too boss. If we’re all there you have to keep an eye on us after all.” Balthus said proudly.

“That’s your big plan huh?” Yuri said, unimpressed.

“Yup.” Balthus said proudly. “And one weekend off will not ‘regress’ you or whatever it was you said. So live a little outside of this dream of yours. Having a head in the clouds is good, but you gotta land that ship sometime.” He said, surprisingly wise for the muscle laden loud-mouth.

Yuri turned over his shoulder toward his diving partner.

“You’re really going to go?” He asked with a raised eyebrow,

He shrugged in response.

“I can swim there.”

Yuri chuckled.

“Fine, I guess I can too. And… you said there's cards?”

Balthus grinned. The man always smiled like that itself was an olympic sport and he was going for gold.

“You betcha. Lots of cats at the bar out there like to gamble. Bet you can show em up.”

“Bet I could.” Said Yuri, admittedly looking forward to the prospect. “You owe them a bunch of money I presume?” Balthus let rip a deep laugh.

“Not at the moment, but we could change that I’m sure.” He chuckled.

“Alright, but I’m not lending you money anymore ‘Mr. Gold Medal’ you’re on your own.”

“What? Come on, how are those two things related?” Balthus threw his arms up in protest.

Yuri snickered and shook his head as they approached their villa.  _ Hopeless. Truly hopeless. _

As they arrived at what had been their collective house for the last month, Emile found himself alone in the living room. The girls went off toward their room giggling, and the other men broke away making some grumbling comment about getting out of their stuffy clothes.

Emile looked down at his own white dress shirt, which had become untucked at some point in the evening, and grey slacks with one side rolled up slightly showing his argyle socks over his brown leather shoes. He didn’t care much for appearances. Never had.

He found himself walking through the apartment style layout, leaving all the lights off as he went from one room to the others. The dining area, the kitchen, the living room, all the spaces they’d inhabited as a team. Eating late night meals and early morning protein bars. The time they’d try to play charades. The spot they’d designated as the dirty clothes pile.

He liked how the space looked without the artificial yellow covering it. Instead only the natural glow of the moon outlining the furniture and walls. He followed the bright light from outside to the porch doors and slid open the glass, letting the summer night air greet him once more.

He stepped out onto the raised wooden balcony and sat, legs crossed and arms in the middle.

He’d always liked stargazing. When he was young and in the system, jumping from foster care to foster parent the stars were his constant companion. They were always the same. They’d show up every night without fail, no matter what roof was over his head in what new part of Fódlan. He could always draw the map in the sky and find the familiar family portrait crafted from Orion, Ursa Minor, and Lyra.

“You doing alright Emile?” He flicked his glance briefly over his shoulder to see Constance walking out to sit by his side. She’d always gone out of her way to make him a part of the group. “It was nice seeing Mercie at dinner, wasn’t it?” She added.

“Yes. It was.” He was short spoken more often than not. It was easier that way. But in truth, getting to see his sister was a treasure every day he got to. And this last month was a boon. He’d gotten to see her so many mornings in a row. Gotten to meet her friends, and she wasn’t the slightest bit embarrassed to introduce him. She’d proudly called him by his birth name, rather than the name the system gave him, and he was still getting used to which he preferred. Thinking of himself as Jeritza or Emile…

“I always like seeing her. Did you want to invite her to the beach with us next month?” Constance offered. He hummed in thought.

“That would be nice.” He liked the idea. He hoped she would too.

“Where’s the party?” Came the loudest voice amongst their team, Balthus, as he strode out in thin tank top and athletic shorts. He dropped to the ground with a sigh and lounged in the spot next to Jeritza. His palms splayed out behind him and legs out in front.

“Just enjoying the night.” Constance said with a smile. “Hard to believe it’s the last one…” She said almost wistfully.

“Hmm… yeah it is.” Balthus added.

Emile had to admit… he was going to miss this. It had felt like a more stable family than he’d ever had. Their little routines, the way they always seemed to push each other's buttons, the way they rotated who was on dish duty and fought over what to watch at night on the television. The way they all made a point to go to each other's events and the way they were all… there. It had been nice. But all nice things seemed to have to come to an end...

“There will be other tournaments.” Yuri’s voice appeared from behind them, leaning against the wall in a casual tee and some kind of tight black leggings that stopped mid calf.

“Yes, I suppose there will. But this one… was special. And it’s over.” Constance said again. “It was a good one.”

“Yeah it was.” Came Hapi’s voice, no longer in her nice clothes, also dressed down to a flannel and some board shorts.

“Did everyone change besides us?” Constance added looking from her dress to Emile.

“I told you to wait a minute while I grabbed your sleep clothes, but no. You wandered out of the room the second I had my back turned.” Hapi laughed with a smirk, coming to sit by her side and pull her close.

“That doesn’t  _ sound _ like something I’d do.” Constance joked leaning her head on her wife’s shoulder.

She held out a hand to Emile and he blinked before taking it. She smiled happily and they all fell to a comfortable silence as they looked out at the moon. It was almost full. A waxing gibbous.

“What… was everyone’s favorite part?” He surprisingly found himself asking. He had no idea where the question came from. Somewhere deep inside that told him to seize the moment. And he didn’t have time to question it before the words tumbled out.

He felt the odd air at the moment, and expected silence or for it to go bad, or ignored… the way it often did with people. But he felt Constance tighten her hand in his and smile, sitting up straighter.

“Mine was the first time in the ring. The facilities are truly stunning. The lights, the stands, the cameras… I don’t think I’ve ever punched a man out at a nicer venue.” That got a chuckle from the group. “And… watching Hapi win gold. That was a truly special moment I don’t think I can ever recreate.” She turned and beamed at her wife who’s cheeks went brilliant red. She nudged her with her elbow, somehow lacking a clever response to the moment.

“Well... mine was my first shot in the skeet final. That second where your heart is going a mile a minute and you have to will it down to load your cartridge and yell ‘pull,’ and that first trigger flick where you see the clay disc burst into colored dust… there’s nothing like it.” Hapi smiled. “And… watching Balthus eat half a carton of raw eggs.”

That got another laugh from the group.

“What, it’s good for protein!” Balthus insisted.

“I can understand that, but the utter look of disgust on Coco’s face… priceless.” Another swat on her knee from her wife before she cuddled closer to her.

“Balthy, you go.” Hapi added.

“Well, getting that gold was pretty awesome. Not gonna lie. I got to officially prove my worth as King of Grappling!” he announced the last part with a pump of the fist and the enthusiasm of a comic book character. “But… I think a lot about the first day we went to see these two at training,” He turned and pointed two fingers from his hand toward Yuri and Jeritza. “And decided to take a dip ourselves. The _ look  _ on your faces.”

“You are all terrible.” Yuri laughed with a shake of his head. “The first day here and you cannonballed into the Olympic training facility pool. In front of all the other nations. I'm surprised you didn’t get us all banned.

“That was a good time Yuri bird. Don’t deny it.” Hapi added and he shook his head again.

“Your turn boss. What’s it gonna be?” Balthus asked.

Yuri stared up at the sky in thought.

“Our second dive in the finals. That was the one that felt the best. I want to get to the point where every dive feels like that.” He said with a nod toward his partner. “Think we can take over the world when it does.”

“Yes, world domination, via doubles diving.” Constance added and that got more chuckles from the group.

“You’re up.” Yuri added looking back at Jeritza.

Having been the one to ask the question he thought he should have some kind of answer, but was failing to find one.

“I suppose… seeing my sister receive her recognition.” He concluded before looking at them all in turn, shifting to meet each of their eyes. “And… right now.”

There were soft familiar smiles looking back at him before they all turned back to the moon.

“Oh, I’ve got another one. When Jeritza threw the flag at the opening ceremony!” Hapi added. And that burst the group into the loudest laugh yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, if you can believe it this is the penultimate chapter... we are almost DONE.
> 
> I’m gonna keep the mushy stuff for tomorrows chap, but who’s event did ya enjoy the most? :)


End file.
